A Frigtening Scene
by TotalCSIfan
Summary: Nick awakes in the middle of the night to a frigtening scene. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI

A Frightening Scene

"Honey would you mind if I run to the coffee shop for an hour or so? I'd like to just relax, have a coffee and read, I won't be gone long, would you be ok watching the kids for a bit by yourself?" Jackie asked Nick.

"Sure, go for it." He responded with a smile.

"Thanks, if you need me to come home for any reason just call, I'll see you in a bit. Oh and I think I am going to try that coffee shop by my school, it's new and I haven't been there yet so that's where I'll be." She said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek before grabbing her purse, book, and car keys and heading out the door.

Jackie ordered her coffee and then sat down in one of the comfy chairs and started reading her book. She read two chapters of her book, and then she looked at her watch and decided that she better get back to Nick and the kids. She grabbed her half-drank coffee and gathered up all of her belongings and left.

Later that night after she and Nick had put the kids to bed she sat down in a kitchen chair.

"You ok?" Nick asked, as he noticed she had an odd expression on her face.

"Not really, I feel like I'm going to throw up." She told him.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked.

"No thanks, I think I am just going to go to bed, hopefully I'll be fine by tomorrow, but just in case I am really getting sick would you mind getting up with the baby if he cries tonight, I don't want to get the little guy sick."

"Sure."

"Thanks, I owe you one hon, and thanks for letting me have some time to myself today." She told him with an appreciative smile.

"Feel better, and if you need anything let me know."

"Thanks." She told him before she went upstairs and went to bed.

Nick went to bed an hour later.

The next day Jackie was still sick, and she vomited several times. Jackie's mom came over to help Nick take care of both Jackie and the kids.

In the middle of the night the baby's cries woke him up. He blinked, trying to get adjusted to the darkness.

"I'm coming little buddy." He said quietly as he staggered out of bed.

It was then that he noticed Jackie was not sleeping next to him. He walked to the bathroom and noticed the door was partially closed.

"Jacks, you ok?" He called.

She didn't answer.

"Jackie?" He called again.

When she still didn't answer he opened the door a little wider. He found Jackie sprawled on the floor with her eyes closed.

"Jackie." He screamed as he raced over to her.

She wasn't breathing, he felt for a pulse, she had one but it was very faint. He raced into the other room to the phone so he could call 911. Once he had the phone he raced back to Jackie's side. He frantically dialed 911.

"911 what is your emergency?" The operator asked.

"My wife is not breathing, I need an ambulance right now at 922 Rose Avenue."

He then started CPR.

"Come on Jacks, stay with me." He prayed as he continued CPR.

Sloan was still screaming his little head off in the other room but the baby would have to wait for his bottle.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

911 got there quickly.

"Sir what happened?" one of the paramedics asked.

"I don't know, I just came in here and found her like this. She's been sick since yesterday evening." Nick said nearly hysterical.

"Ok." The paramedic said as he and his partner continued the CPR.

The paramedic asked Nick some more questions but Nick didn't really have any answers for him.

"Dada, baby Sone cryin." Nick heard a little voice say.

Nick spun around.

"I know sweetheart, let's go see what he wants." Nick said as he picked up Jasmine.

Nick didn't want to leave Jackie's side but he couldn't let Jasmine see what was going on.

"Mama seepin?" Jasmine asked as he pointed at Jackie, it had been too late, she had already seen way more than she should have.

"Yes peanut." Nick said as he felt tears in his eyes.

"On Floor?" Jasmine asked sounding extremely perplexed.

"Yes honey, on the floor. Talk to your baby brother sweetheart and don't leave his room, he's sad and he wants you to stay with him." Nick said, trying desperately to keep the little girl out of the master bathroom.

"Ok dada." She said with a smile.

"That's my girl." Nick said as he faked a smile at her and then dashed back to the bathroom.

"It ok baby Sone, don't cry." Nick heard the sweet little girl say which made the tears that had welled in his eyes start cascading down his face.

"Which hospital is she going too?" Nick asked as the paramedics started carrying Jackie on a stretcher.

"Desert Palm." Was one of the paramedics reply.

Nick hurriedly got each of the kids' coats and shoes on and then loaded them into the car. He called his in-laws to tell them what had happened, although he didn't go into much detail because he didn't want to scare the kids. They decided that Nick would drop the kids off at Jackie's parent's house and Jackie's dad would watch them while Jackie's mom, and Nick would rush to the hospital.

Soon Nick was speeding to the hospital.

Jackie's mom was in hysterics in the passenger seat and Nick was trying not to loose it himself. The pair burst through the hospital doors.

"Where's my daughter?" Jackie's mom asked a nurse frantically.

"Are you Jackie's mother?"

"Yes."

"Your daughter is very critical right now, we don't know what is wrong with her yet but we are working on it, I'm sorry, I wish I had more information for you at this time." A nurse told them.

Jackie's mom collapsed in a chair. Nick tried the best to comfort her, but he himself needed comforting. A while later a doctor came out.

"We found out what is wrong with your wife Mr. Stokes." The doctor said.

"What is it, is she going to be ok?"

"Yes, but had she not been brought in it could have been a very different story."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Your wife had an extremely high level of ethylene glycol in her system."

"Ethylene glycol, antifreeze?" Nick stammered.

"Yes. Do you have any idea who would try to poison your wife?"

Nick was completely stunned.

"No." Was all he could muster.

"Can we see her?" Jackie's mom asked.

"No ma'am, I'm sorry, but not at this time." Was all the doctor said before he turned and walked back down the hall.

"Why won't they let us see her?" Jackie's mom said as tears rolled down her face.

"Because I'm sure we're suspects." Nick said quietly as that realization hit him.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean we're suspects, they think we did this?" She asked astonished.

"We are her family and they always look at the family first. Me as her husband in particular. I'm the one that was with her when she got sick and I'm the one that found her. Besides the kids I'm the only one in the house with her, I'm the prime suspect." Nick said, knowing that if he'd been investigating a case just like Jackie's the husband would be number one on his own suspect list.

Within moments two officers came to question Nick and his mother in law. They took them to separate rooms. They grilled Nick, as he knew they would. He repeated the exact same story as he had told the paramedics.

"Let's just get right to it, did you poison your wife?"

"No, I love that woman more than anything, I'd do absolutely anything for her." Nick said sincerely as his eyes welled with tears.

The officer thought Nick's tears seemed genuine, and he noticed how he talked about his wife in the present tense, but then again he was a CSI, he'd know all the tricks.

"Would you be willing to take a polygraph Mr. Stokes?"

"Absolutely."

"Ok." The officer responded and before long Nick as well as his mother in law (in separate vehicles) were transported to the police station and both were being hooked up to a machine, again in separate rooms.

They both passed the test with flying colors and both had been nothing but cooperative.

The same officer that had first questioned Nick at the hospital now sat with him in an interrogation room, although he had passed his polygraph he still remained a suspect, in reality they didn't have any other suspects.

"Mr. Stokes, do you know of anyone that would want to harm Jackie?"

"No, everyone loves her." Nick said.

"What does your wife do for a living?"

"She's a first grade teacher."

"Mr. Stokes, as hard as this may be for you to hear I need to ask you this anyway. Could your wife have possibly done this to herself?"

"Don't even go there." Nick responded icily.

That angered him more than them thinking he had done it.

"Now, Mr. Stokes, you're a CSI, you know we have to examine every angle."

"My wife did not attempt suicide, she has five children that are her world, she'd never, and I mean ever do that to them."

"Ok, I need you to go over exactly what your wife did the day she got sick."

"She didn't really do very much that day except hang out with me and the kids around the house. The only time she left was to go get a coffee. She just wanted some time to herself so she took a book to read while she sat at the coffee shop and drank her coffee. She does that quite often, it's one of her favorite ways to decompress. She told me that there was a new coffee shop by her school that she wanted to try, she'd never been to that one. When she came back she was fine until around the time she went to bed and then she said she felt nauseous, she never did throw up that night but the next day she was really sick, and then I found her sprawled on the bathroom floor early this morning."

"You wouldn't still have the coffee cup she got from that day would you?" The cop asked, he knew it was a long shot but it might be incredibly useful.

Nick's answer surprised him.

"Yeah, she only drank about half of it, the rest of it is still in our fridge."

"Really, why didn't she finish it? Did she say it tasted funny?"

"No, she always does that, that's in no way odd for her, she gets a large one and then drinks it all day until it's gone. She usually finishes it that night or the next day but she got sick so she didn't feel like finishing it."

"Mr. Stokes, would mind accompanying me to your house so I can retrieve the rest of her coffee?"

"Sure, and then can I please go back to the hospital, I want to be with her."

"Yes."

Nick along with two officers went back to the Stokes' residence to retrieve the coffee.

Nick led them to the kitchen, one of the officers put gloves on and opened the fridge, just like Nick said there would be a half drank frappe sat on the top shelf of the fridge.

The officer bagged the coffee as evidence.

"While we're here would you mind if we have a look around, it will look better for you in the long run if you voluntarily let us search your house." One of the officers said.

Although Nick had passed his polygraph and he genuinely seemed to love his wife very much the officers still had to do their due diligence, a woman nearly died after all.

"Sure, do whatever you need to do, but can I please get back to the hospital?"

"We'll have an officer escort you."

Within moments an officer arrived to take Nick back to the hospital.

His mother in law was already back there and the rest of Jackie's family had gathered there as well. Nick's team had also arrived, (except for Catherine who had been investigating a double homicide in a town outside of Vegas, but she had heard what happened and she was now speeding to the hospital as well) the officers investigating the case had questioned everyone and they all said the same thing about the Stokes' marriage, it was solid, loving, and that they were the ideal couple and they were all aghast at the thought that the police suspected Nick of doing this, not one person, even from Jackie's own family thought it even remotely possible that Nick would do this.

The officers all took note of how everyone, again Jackie's own family included how everyone rallied around Nick, they treated him like part of the family, sharing hugs and tears as Nick rejoined them at the hospital.

Catherine finally arrived.

"Miss Willows, can you come with me please? I have a few questions for you." One of the officers said.

Catherine nodded so the officer led her to a quiet room so they could chat.

"What can you tell me about the Stokes' marriage?" "It's the best marriage I've seen, if everyone had a marriage like that there would be a zero percent divorce rate." Catherine said sincerely.

"Miss Willows, I understand you're a very good friend and coworker to Mr. Stokes but a woman was nearly killed so I want you to be completely honest when you answer my next question."

Catherine knew what was coming.

"Is it possible Mr. Stokes could have done this?"

"You're right, I am a friend of Nick's, but I'm also a friend of Jackie's and if I had a shred of suspicion Nick was responsible for this I would be the first to insist he be held accountable but I can look you straight in the eye and honestly tell you that I would believe an alien from outer space came down and poisoned Jackie before I'd believe Nick did it." Catherine told the investigator.

He gave Catherine an odd look.

"Look, I've been a CSI for a long time, I know that the husband/boyfriend is always the first suspect but I've known Nick for a long time and he would just never do this to anyone let alone Jackie. I have never seen a man treat a woman as well as Nick treats her, he simply adores her, and on top of that Nick would never take his children's mother away from them. Those kids love Jackie and they would be devastated without her, Nick wouldn't do that to them, he just wouldn't."

"Do you know of anyone else that would want to harm her?"

"No, I've honestly never heard anyone say a bad thing about her, and they shouldn't, she's one of the nicest, most caring people you'd ever meet, she's truly the salt of the Earth."

"Ok, thank you Miss Willows, if you think of anything else you'd you please let me know?"

"Sure, can my team run this investigation?"

"No, I'm sorry but that would be a conflict of interest."

"Can we at least assist in it?" "No, I'm sorry."

Catherine sighed and then walked out of the room to go rejoin the others.

A while later Jackie finally woke up.

They let Nick go back and see her but an armed police officer stood outside her hospital room door watching Nick as if he expected him to try and finish her off. Nick understood why they were doing this but being under this cloud of suspicion made this situation even worse.

"Hi." Nick whispered as he entered Jackie's room.

He immediately went over and grabbed her hand, trying to forget the officer was there.

Jackie had already been informed about what had happened to her, she was as shocked as everyone else, but she was just glad she was going to be ok.

"Hi." She said with a smile.

The officer noticed Jackie seemed genuinely glad that Nick was with her, she showed no signs of being afraid of him.

"Why is he looking at us like that?" Jackie asked as she nodded towards the police officer.

"He's just doing it for your protection." Nick answered, not telling her that he was in fact a suspect in her attempted murder.

"Where are the kids?" Jackie asked.

"Your dad dropped them off at Ashley's, they're fine." Nick assured her. (Ashley is one of Jackie's best friends)

Nick sat by Jackie's side lovingly stroking her hair.

A while later two investigators working on her case walked into the room.

"Mrs. Stokes, we found the source of your poisoning, although we still have no idea who did it. Antifreeze was in your frappe, I need you to tell us exactly what happened the day you got sick, and Mr. Stokes, I'm going to need you to step outside the room and close the door."

"What? Why does he have to leave?" Jackie asked.

"It's just protocol." The officer assured her.

"It's ok." Nick told her with a smile, he gave her hand one more loving squeeze before he followed the investigators orders and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Finally it dawned on Jackie, why the officer had stood guard at her door, and why they were making Nick leave the room.

"Oh my God, you think he did this don't you?" Jackie asked. "As your husband we are looking closely at him but we are not accusing him of anything at this time, this is just protocol."

"Protocol, bologna, you think he did this. Let me tell you something, that man has been nothing but a loving and wonderful husband since the day we married, and he treated me just as kind before we were married or we would have never gotten married."

"Mrs. Stokes, please don't be offended, we really are just trying to help you."

"If you want to help me so bad I suggest you go find out who really did this instead of treating the man that saved my life like a cold blooded murderer."

"Mrs. Stokes, if someone at the coffee shop really did try to poison you other people's lives may be in danger so it is critical that you tell us what happened."

"I just needed a little time to myself so I went to the coffee shop, I do that all the time, although the coffee shop I went to was newer and I'd never been there before so I decided to give it a try. I stayed for about forty five minutes or so and then I left and came home, later that night I felt sick and was really sick the next day. The last thing I remember before waking up today is running to the bathroom in the middle of the night to throw up."

"Ok, and did your coffee taste ok?"

"Well it tasted a little different but I just thought they made the coffee a little differently then the coffee shop I usually go to does so I didn't really think anything of it, it was still really good."

"Would you happen to remember the person's name that made your coffee?" The investigator asked.

"Yeah, Glen, I remember because his name tag was about ready to fall off and I told him, he thanked me, I sat down, and a couple minutes later he brought me my coffee."

"Ok, that's all the questions we have for you, if you think of anything else would you please let us know?"

"Yes."

"Ok thank you, and get better." One of the investigators said before leaving the room.

"Thank you."

Nick was then aloud to come back into her room, although the officer still remained just outside her door.

A while later the two investigators that had just questioned Jackie arrived at the coffee shop with a search warrant in hand.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" A teenage employee asked the two investigators when they walked in.

"You can let us have a look around." One of them said as he handed him the warrant. "Also you can answer some questions for us."

"Ok." The young man said, now looking scared.

"Is Glen working today?"

"He works the five-close shift today."

"Do you recognize this woman?" one of them asked the employee as he showed him a picture of Jackie.

"Yeah, she comes in here all the time. She's a really nice lady, she always tips us and she always thanks us when we hand her the drink she orders. She's understanding too, one time we made her the wrong drink by mistake and instead of throwing a fit like most people do, she assured us that it was ok and she just took the drink we gave her, most people would go ballistic, trust me, most people are crabby before they get their coffee and they get even more crabbier if you mess it up."

"Ok thank you. We'll go have a look in the back now."

"Alright." The officers then went in the back room.

"Did you catch that? Mrs. Stokes said she'd never been here before and the young man says she comes in all the time, obviously one of them is lying. My guess is that he's lying to throw us off."

"You never know, maybe Mrs. Stokes just said she's never been here before, her husband also said that'd she'd told him she'd never been here. Maybe that's just what she told him, and told us, but perhaps that's not true."

"Why would she lie about that?"

"Perhaps their marriage is not as rock solid as everyone seems to think. Maybe Mrs. Stokes is trying more than the coffee here."

TBC….


	4. Chapter 4

"That's a major stretch." The other investigator replied.

"Maybe so but there is an inconsistency and we need to figure out what the hell is going on here."

After a few minutes of looking around one investigator stumbled upon a major clue. It was a container of antifreeze. He bagged it, hoping that he could get prints off of it.

He then looked at his watch, it was ten minutes to five, hopefully Glen would come in for his shift, they wanted to talk to him. The two investigators looked around for other things that would yield some evidence but they didn't find anything so they went back to the front of the store to wait for Glen.

Right on schedule a man walked in wearing a uniform with the café's logo on it, his nametag read Glen.

When he saw the two investigators he ran full speed out the door.

The two investigators ran after him and before long had caught him.

"Nothing says guilty like running from the cops dumbass." One of the investigators told him.

"Glen we want to talk to you about an attempted murder." The other investigator said.

"Attempted murder? You mean the bitch didn't die?"

TBC….

I know this is a short chapter but hang in there with me!


	5. Chapter 5

After a while, Glen had told them everything, it was sickening to the investigators ears. When he was finished telling them his story they placed him in a holding cell and then submitted and got a warrant for his fingerprints and DNA. The investigators then brought the container of antifreeze to the lab, they hoped Glen's prints would be on it. They then went back to the hospital so they could tell the Stokes family everything that they had learned.

When they made it back to Jackie's hospital room her entire family was there.

"Mrs. Stokes, we found the man responsible for your poisoning."

"That's wonderful, who is it?" Jackie asked.

"His name is Glen Andrews, he works at the coffee shop."

"Why did he poison her, was it just random?" Nick asked.

"No sir, it wasn't random, Jackie was a target."

Nick and everyone else in the room was shocked.

"Glen Andrews stated that you taught his son a year ago and his son was having difficulty reading so you recommended him for a special reading program that helps children that are struggling with reading, but he didn't want his son to be placed in the program because he felt that there would be a stigma for his son that would come with that. He said he voiced his concerns but that you were insistent, but his wife agreed with you so he was placed in the program. He hated you for that. Although he did say that his son loves you."

"What was the little boy's name?" Jackie asked.

"Michael Andrews." The investigator replied.

"I've never had a student by that name." Jackie replied confusedly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure, I'm very good at remembering names and I've never had a Michael Andrews, I've taught several little boys named Michael but never a Michael Andrews." Jackie insisted.

"You teach first grade correct?"

"Yes." Jackie replied. "This man was insistent that you were his son's first grade teacher at Canton Elementary."

"I don't teach at Canton, I teach at Kent Elementary." Jackie told him, she was now more confused then ever.

"Really? Have you ever taught at Canton?"

"No, Kent is the only school I've ever taught at, well here in Vegas anyway, I taught at a different school in my hometown but that was years and years ago." Jackie said.

Jackie thought for a moment, none of this made sense.

"Oh my God." She exclaimed suddenly.

"What honey?" Nick asked.

"My identical twin sister teaches first grade at Canton, I wasn't his target, she was, he just must have assumed I was her."

TBC…..


	6. Chapter 6

Now it all made sense to the investigators. The inconsistency that had loomed so large in the investigator's minds could be explained. He thought Jackie or the employee must have been lying but it turns out that both were telling the truth, or at least the young employee thought he had been. Jackie really had never been to that coffee shop before but Carissa must have been, when the employee had been shown the picture of Jackie, he mistook her for Carissa. There was one person who could verify this complicated story and that was Carissa. Nick immediately called Carissa and simply explained that Jackie was in the hospital and that she'd been poisoned, he left out all the other details. Carissa hurriedly arrived at the hospital to be with her sister.

"Mrs. Hart, I have just a couple of questions for you." One of the investigators told her after she had arrived in Jackie's hospital room.

"Ok." Carissa said, wondering why they had any questions for her.

"Do you go to the coffee shop on Flame Avenue often?"

"Yeah, all the time, I love their chai Tea."

"Are you a first grade teacher at Canton Elementary School?"

"Yes."

"Did you have a student by the name Michael Andrews?"

"Yes, he's such a sweet little boy. He was a teacher's dream. Why do you ask, is he ok, please don't tell me he was poisoned as well?"

"Oh, no he's fine." The investigator assured her.

He told Carissa the shocking tale of what happened, she couldn't believe her ears.

"Oh my god, I was only trying to help the little boy. The only thing he wasn't academically great at was reading, he was one of the lowest readers in my class so I recommended him for this special reading program we have to help kids learn to read and it did help him tremendously, he went from being one of the lowest readers in my class to reading at a third grade level by the end of the year. I knew his father wasn't thrilled with the idea but I just thought he was an arrogant man, he couldn't stand the thought of his son not being perfect, I never did like that man but I never dreamed he'd do something like this. I go into that coffee shop all of the time, the employee's are always so friendly, expect for him, he'd barely look at me and if he did look at me he'd give me an evil look. I'd always just ignore him "

She then turned her attention to Jackie.

"I'm so sorry Jackie, I don't even know what to say."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you did absolutely nothing wrong." Jackie told her with a smile.

"I know but I feel terrible."

"Don't, you were just doing what any good, caring teacher would do." Jackie said with a smile.

"Thank you for that Jackie. Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks." Jackie told her before she turned her attention to Nick.

"You know Nicky, out of the two of us I always thought you had the dangerous job but apparently that isn't true."

Nick laughed.

Everyone in the room talked with one another, they were all thrilled that the case was solved and that no one was going to have lasting health problems.

Carissa stayed by her sister's side with the rest of the family but then suddenly she jumped up and raced into the bathroom and violently threw up.

TBC….


	7. Chapter 7

Nick and one of the investigators raced into the bathroom.

"Carissa, are you alright?" Nick asked his sister in law.

"Yes, I'm fine." She assured him.

She emerged from the bathroom slightly embarrassed.

"I'm not sick, well, I am but not because I've been poisoned." She went over once again to Jackie's bedside.

"Jackie this is not how I envisioned telling you this but I'm three months pregnant."

Had Jackie been able too she'd of jumped up and wrapped her sister in a warm embrace but instead a huge smile crossed her face.

"Congratulations." Jackie said sincerely.

Carissa was beaming, of course why wouldn't she be, her very loving husband and her were expecting their first child.

"Jackie I owe you a huge thank you." Carissa told her.

"For what?" Jackie asked.

"I don't think Jackie has anything to do with your pregnancy, I think you should thank your husband for that." Nick told his sister in law with a wide smile.

Carissa turned about fifty shades of red at once.

"Not for that Nick, you smart ass." She said with a smile at him as she shook her head.

"In all seriousness Jackie, you more than likely saved my baby's life."

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked confused.

"Well had you not gone into that coffee shop chances are the next time I would have gone in he would have poisoned me instead and I in all likelihood would have lost my baby."

Jackie let that sink in, she knew Carissa was probably right, Jackie more than likely unknowingly saved her sister's baby.

Talk about a twist of fate.

TBC….


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone stayed with Nick and Jackie for awhile just to visit, more to show their love and support than anything else.

"Guys we should go so Jackie can get some sleep." Jackie's mom finally said.

Everyone gathered up their belongings.

"You don't have to go, I'm not tired."

"It's ok, you need your rest." Her mother insisted.

Everybody told Nick and Jackie to call them if they needed anything and after Nick assured them that they would they left the hospital.

"I'll go run down to the cafeteria so you can sleep hon." Nick told her.

"I'm not tired, but I am hungry, could you get me some lunch, please?"

Nick appeared to think about that.

"I suppose I could do that." He said with a half grin.

"What would you like?"

"Steak, lobster, French fries, and a glass of white wine." Jackie told him jokingly.

"I don't think they have that in the hospital cafeteria." Nick said with a chuckle.

"Oh all right then, just surprise me."

Nick left and came back a bit later.

"Lunch is served." He told her as he handed her a box.

Inside there was a hot ham and cheese sandwich and French fries. He then handed her a bottled soda.

"Thank you Nicky, and see, you didn't do so bad, you at least got my French fries."

"That's right, and I have a surprise for you for desert." He told her as he held up another box.

"Good?" Nick asked as her as they both started eating, he had gotten the same thing for himself.

"Yeah, really good." Jackie told him.

"You sound surprised." He told her with a laugh.

"Well hospitals aren't really known for their food but this is really good."

"That's good, I like mine too." He replied.

Jackie nodded, they ate in happy silence for a few minutes.

"Oh Jacks, I'm sorry, I should have gotten you ranch to dip your fries in instead of ketchup, that was dumb." He told her, remembering now that's what she always did.

"This is fine. Thanks for lunch." She told him with a smile.

"Oh I expect you to pay me back for it, I'm going to raid your wallet when we go home." He told her with a smirk.

She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and then they both laughed.

"Nicky." Jackie said after they had finished eating.

She held out her hand and he immediately grabbed it.

"hmmm?" Nick asked.

"I'm so sorry that the police thought you did this. I never, not for one split second ever believed them and neither did any of my family or our friends. I feel so bad that the police put you through that, I couldn't imagine what that must have been like for you."

"It's alright, I understand why they did what they did, had I been the investigating officer I would have done the same, their main job was to make sure you were safe, and as long as no one that I care about thinks that I would ever do that to you that's all that matters to me." He told her as he gave her hand a squeeze.

She smiled at him and he returned the smile.

A few minutes passed in silence.

"Are you ready for dessert?" He asked her.

"Yes." She said.

He handed her another box, a smaller one this time.

"Oooh a cheesecake square yum." She said.

"Yep, I was going to get you a brownie but the only brownies they had had walnuts in them and I know you don't like that."

"You did good, this is delicious." She assured him after she had taken a bite.

After she had finished desert he insisted that she looked tired and needed to take a nap.

She finally gave in and fell asleep but she wasn't asleep for long before Nick leaned over and softly whispered in her ear "Jacks, wake up hon, you have visitors."


	9. Chapter 9

Jackie opened her eyes slowly.

"Mama." Jasmine, Houston, Johnna, and Karlie shouted happily the second Jackie had opened her eyes.

"Hi guys." Jackie said as happy tears welled in her eyes, she was even more excited to see them then they were to see her.

All four kids hurriedly ran over and climbed on her hospital bed.

"I love you, and I've missed you so much." She told them as she gave each one a kiss on their heads.

"Baby Sone too?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes of course baby Sloan too." Jackie assured the little girl with a smile.

Right on cue her mom carried the baby over to her and set him in her arms. He cooed happily in Jackie's arms.

"Hi baby boy." Jackie told him lovingly before kissing his forehead.

"I'm sorry we had to wake you Jackie but they've been begging me to bring them to see you." Her mother told her.

"I'm so glad you did." Jackie told her sincerely.

The kids snuggled close to Jackie as if they hadn't seen her in years.

"Mama sleep on floor." Jasmine told Jackie.

Jackie looked puzzled for a moment and then she looked over at Nick with a horrified expression on her face once she realized what Jasmine was talking about. Nick gave Jackie a reassuring smile.

Jackie turned her attention back to the little girl.

"Yes sweetie but mommy's ok now." She told her.

Jasmine just smiled at her.

"Owie?" Houston asked as he pointed to the IV in Jackie's hand, which doctors had administered so Jackie could be given fluids so she wouldn't become dehydrated.

"A little owie buddy, but I'm ok." Jackie told him.

"Uh-oh" Houston said as he immediately crawled off of Jackie's bed.

He went over to where Jackie's mom's purse sat on a chair on the other side of the room and started digging feverishly in the purse.

"What are you looking for sweetheart?" Jackie's mom asked the little boy as she walked over to him.

"Band aide." Houston told her.

"Oh sweetheart, that is so nice of you but mommy doesn't need a band aide." Jackie told him, choking back happy tears, her kids were so sweet, well most of the time anyways.

"Band aide." Houston insisted, as he started throwing junk out of the purse.

Jackie's mom tried to catch things before they hit the floor but she didn't have the heart to tell him to get out of the purse. He pulled out her wallet and looked through the compartments.

"No band aide." He said sounding dismayed after he yanked out a one hundred dollar bill and tossed it to the floor so he could look into the bottom of that pocket of the wallet.

Jackie's mom hurriedly picked it up. _That could buy a lot of band aides_ she thought silently to herself.

Houston finally got to the bottom of the purse.

"Band aide." He said triumphantly as he held up a single band aide that had been in the bottom of the purse.

He walked over to Nick.

"Open dada." He told him as he handed the band aide to Nick.

Nick smiled at him and opened it and handed it back to him. He hurriedly took the band aide over to Jackie and stuck it over her IV and then grinned at her as if she was magically healed.

"Thank you sweetheart, what would mommy do without you?"

Houston then crawled back up on the bed.

Jackie's mom let the kids visit her for a few more minutes before she said "Ok kids we better go, mommy is tired."

"No stay." Jasmine protested.

"Honey we can't stay but I promise you we'll come back and see mommy and daddy again tomorrow." Jackie's mom told her.

"Mama home." Jasmine said as she yanked lightly on Jackie's arm.

"I'll be home in a couple of days sweetheart, ok?" Jackie assured her as she kissed her forehead.

"Dada home?" Jasmine asked.

"I can't come home either yet peanut, I can't leave mommy here by herself." He told his little girl.

Jasmine started to cry.

"Oh please don't cry sweetie pie." Jackie told her softly, she stroked the little girl's hair as tears started to well in Jackie's own eyes.

"Go home Nicky. I'll be fine." Jackie told him.

Nick gave Jackie a look that said_ That's not happening _before he turned his attention back to Jasmine.

"How about if daddy takes you guys down to get an ice cream cone in the cafeteria, that way I'll get to see you guys a little, I've missed you too." Nick told them.

The last time he'd seen the kids was the night Jackie was rushed to the ER, everything had been such a whirlwind with Jackie being on the verge of dying and then with the police investigation he hadn't gotten to see them at all and he'd missed them terribly.

That idea sounded wonderful to all four of the kids and within seconds they left the hospital room with Nick.

"Pretty soon you'll be able to go with them Sloan." Jackie told the baby who was contently sucking on his pacifier in Jackie's arms.

"Want me to take him?" Jackie's mom offered.

"Nope, he's just fine. But thanks so much for taking care of them until I get home."

"It's my pleasure, although your dad told me to tell you he had a confession to make"

"What's that?"

"He told me to tell you that he let them have chocolate cake for lunch. When I asked him why he just said that they begged him, you know your dad, he's a softy."

Jackie laughed.

"He's no better at saying no to them then he was saying at saying it to me when I was little is he?"

"He's worse." Jackie's mom told her.

Jackie burst out laughing.

"Chocolate cake and now ice cream, they've had a good day." Jackie told her.

Although it wasn't a very healthy diet Jackie was glad the kids could at least have something they enjoyed, she knew it was hard on them that both she and Nick were gone so she was very grateful that at least they were getting spoiled by their grandparents.

"How are you feeling by the way? It was so chaotic when the kids saw you I didn't get a chance to ask you."

"I feel good, I feel good enough to go home but the doctor said I need to stay two more days for observation and such. I tried to argue with him but it didn't do any good."

"You need to do what the doctor says."

"You sound like Nick." Jackie told her mother.

"You do." Her mother told her not backing down.

Jackie knew her mother and Nick were right but she couldn't wait to go home, she missed her children dearly, and seeing Jazz cry made it that much more difficult, so she couldn't wait to go home and get back into mommy mode, a mode she loved and wouldn't trade for the world!

The End! Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are awesome!


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